SOCIAL PROBLEM: GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN

In Gloucester, Massachusetts, Elle, a single, 75-year old great-grandmother is raising her two great-grandchildren (ages 5 and 8). Elle became caretaker to the children four years ago when their biological mother (Elle's granddaughter, whom Elle also raised) was no longer able to care for them due to her struggle with an opioid addiction. The children’s father is serving a life sentence for a crime he committed while engaged in substance use. The courts awarded Elle full guardianship of the children until they turn 18, at which point, Elle will be 88-years old. Now, at 75, an age typically experienced by retired elders, Elle continues to work in order to support the children, while balancing the responsibilities of home life, the children’s special education needs, and her own naturally declining health.

According to the 2014 United States Census, there are 2,631,546 grandparents raising grandchildren, of whom 39% are over the age of 60. Within this group, 58% remain in the workforce and one in five lives below the poverty line. Experts point to the opioid epidemic as a main factor in the rise of grandparents raising grandchildren as well as the increasing number of children entering foster care . According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), children placed in kinship foster care increased from 34% in 2008 to 40% in 2014.

While grandparents raising grandchildren can be beneficial for the child in comparison to their placement being in foster care or group homes with non-relatives, consequences to the problem remain wide-ranging for families. This includes the disruption of life plans, such as postponement of retirement, depletion of retirement savings and/or assets, and isolation from critical social networks. Furthermore, trauma stemming from the neglect and abuse that ultimately led to the removal of the child, presents additional challenges including the need to navigate behavioral and mental health services. Likewise, children exposed to substance abuse prenatally may have temporary or permanent developmental issues requiring ongoing health and education services. Amidst these challenges, many grandparents provide dual care toward both their grandchild/ren and their adult child struggling through addiction and/or related legal, mental health, and financial issues. Some of the most requested services from grandparents raising grandchildren are kinship navigation services, financial and legal assistance, counseling, and respite care.

Efforts to address the problem include the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, a law passed unanimously in 2018 that establishes a Federal Advisory Council to support grandparents and other relatives raising children. However, strategies remain necessary and include the need for preventative services, such as substance abuse treatment, mental health services, affordable childcare, and in-home supports. Critical to the success of prevention is protection of Medicare and Medicaid as well as the implementation of accessible, affordable, quality health care for all. With the support of practitioners and policymakers and improvement of and access to services, grandfamilies can experience better outcomes, and communities can come together in order to more effectively combat the opioid and substance abuse crisis.